MADRID, 23 January 2023: A major new report by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and Trip.com Group, together with Deloitte, reveals a heightened appetite for sustainable tourism amongst consumers, with 69% of travellers actively seeking sustainable travel options1.
In the follow-up report, WTTC joined forces again with global travel service provider Trip.com Group and its major consumer brands Trip.com, Ctrip and Skyscanner, with additional data sourced from Deloitte to analyse the trends that shaped the Travel & Tourism sector last year and will continue to do so in 2023.
The report “A world in motion: shifting consumer travel trends in 2022 and beyond” shows that sustainability is a key element of the travel agenda, with travellers eager to reduce their carbon footprint and support sustainable tourism.
According to a survey part of the report, three-quarters of travellers consider travelling more sustainably in the future (1), and nearly 60% have chosen more sustainable travel options in the last couple of years (1).
Another survey also found that around three-quarters of high-end travellers are willing to pay extra to make their trips more sustainable (2).
Last year, following more than two years of travel disruption, travellers made clear their wanderlust is very much alive, with a 109% increase of international overnight arrivals, compared to 2021.
According to the report, last year, consumers were willing to stretch their budget for their holiday plans, with 86% of travellers planning on spending the same amount or more on international travel than in 20193, with U.S. tourists leading the list as big spenders4.
But 2023 is looking even better in terms of travellers’ spend. Despite concerns about inflation and the global cost-of-living crisis, nearly a third (31%) of travellers said they intend to spend more on international travel this year than in 20223.
Additionally, according to Deloitte’s ‘Global State of the Consumer Tracker’, last year, more than half (53%) of global consumers surveyed during the summer said they plan to stay in a hotel over the following three months4.
WTTC President & CEO Julia Simpson said: “Sustainability is top of travellers’ agenda, and consumers highlight the value they put on protecting nature and travelling responsibly.”
Trip.com Group CEO Jane Sun added: “I’m optimistic about the positive momentum for the global resumption and growth of travel in 2023, primarily driven by mainland Chinese consumers, which will help accelerate worldwide recovery and development.”
Other findings in the report
2022 sun and sea package holiday sales are estimated to be up 75% compared to the previous year (5).
Last year during the summer, international arrivals in European sun and beach destinations were just 15% below 2019 levels (6).
According to WTTC’s recent ‘Cities Economic Impact Research’, in 2022, visits to major cities are expected to see a 58% year-on-year increase, less than 14% below 2019 levels.
Luxury holidays will prove particularly popular, with sales of luxury hotels expected to reach $92 billion by 2025 compared to USD76 billion in 2019 (5).
In a survey, nearly 60% of travellers said they were either already paying to offset their carbon emissions or considering it if the price was right (1).
To access more information and read the report, visit https://wttc.org/consumer- trends.
Sources
1 Trip.com
2 Virtuoso
3 Skyscanner
4 Deloitte
5 Euromonitor6 ForwardKeys
